Baton Down The Hatches
by Sam Vicky Ryan
Summary: A shuttle ride brings clarity for Laura and Adama


**Title:Baton down the hatches**

**Authors:AmandaC / VRyan**

**Summary:**AShuttle Ride Brings Clarity

**Pairing:**William Adama / Laura Roslin

**Rating:**NC17

**AN:**Please note that whilst this story is not a sequel to For All The Right Reasons. It is based in the same timeline so Cain was a Cylon and is dead, thanks to Tom Zarek. Yes Billy is still dead but he is alive and kicking in the other Fic we are working on.

Laura Roslin paced her quarters. She had been requested by all ships Captains in the fleet to make an inspection tour. Her shuttle had been damaged when Adama's Marines had cut their way aboard Colonial One. So the Captain of the Geminon Traveller had offered one of his for the president's use. Wally thought it a good idea and had accepted on behalf of the president.

Roslin picked up her Aubergine Jacket and put it on. She ran a hand through her hair and pulled her skirt down before inspecting herself in the mirror. The suit didn't sit right it had shrunk. Doing laundry on board Colonial One involved one thing _'Hand washing'_, which Laura hated with a passion but did anyway. The skirt rested just above her knees with her high heels and a little lip gloss the President of the Twelve Colonies was ready to face her day.

Wally Gray peaked through her curtain just as she was applying a little lip gloss. She hadn't much of it left and thus only bothered with it on special occasions.

"Madam President, looking good"

"Your not going to wolf whistle at me are you Wally"

"Was thinking about it"

"Try it buster"

They were both still laughing as they made their way to Colonial One's Launch Bay.

They boarded a very small shuttle before finding themselves in the launch bay of another ship. They were greeted by a rather small gentleman with grey hair and the largest pair of glasses Laura had ever seen.

Gray stepped forward ahead of the Presidents guards and the president herself.

"Sir May I present President Roslin"

"A pleasure Madam President, my name is Eric Johnston. This small vessel is the Regent. It used to be a questionable vessel for anyone to visit. It was a pleasure ship"

The implications dawned on Laura; she was onboard what used to be a space brothel. She turned and looked at Wally, Stating with a single look _'Great'_. Gray got the message but chose to ignore it. With that Wally smiled "We'll Madam President, have a nice day"

"You're not joining me"

"Later Mam, meeting Commander Adama"

"Of course yes, give him my best"

"Yes Mam"

Laura boarded the Regent flanked by her security guards

"Madam President, would you like a tour"

"Love one", she gave her best politicians smile and hoped he bought it.

"Wonderful" he had.

They walked down a series of corridors the rooms all looked the same to Laura only the décor was different. She wondered if they were used for business purposes in the ships previous occupation.

Finally going up a small flight of stairs to the ship's control deck. Roslin looked around her there were buttons everywhere and lights flashing continuously.

"Have a Seat Madam President"

"Mr Johnston, where's the crew and passengers"

"There is a skeleton crew aboard today Madam President. I dropped everyone else off on cloud nine there's a party on"

"Great", Laura tried to stifle a yawn at the prospect of being stuck in this man's company for the day. She sat down on a chair to the left hand side of the cockpit and put on her safety belt.

They were off, the regent wasn't a large ship, held about one hundred and twenty people but it sure could move. It was equipped with an extremely efficient FTL drive and all of the equipment on board was the best money could buy. Which given what it was used for didn't surprise Roslin in the slightest.

Thankfully Johnston wasn't as boring as she first thought. He furnished her with information about space flight and the anomalies to which justice was never given in books. She listened intently. Her first port of call was right at the back of the fleet the Geminon Traveller.

When she arrived onboard she was greeted by a large crowd of people some of which fell to their knees as she approached them. This Laura found hard to deal with it. They saw her as a Prophet, a messenger from the gods. She didn't see herself that way and thus found it all extremely embarrassing.

By lunch time she was for once ravenous and tired. She re-boarded the Regent and was faced with a rather jolly looking Eric Johnston.

"Mr Johnston"

"Madam President to your left check it out?" Laura saw a large indescribable flicker it looked like a rainbow in space. She was more than a little impressed.

"That's amazing"

"Would you like to take a closer look at it?"

"Yes I would"

"It will require a course change"

"Fine"

Johnston veered the ship left heading towards the anomaly.

He hadn't gone more than a few hundred meters when the vessel was rocked by an internal explosion. Laura felt herself being propelled backward finally stopping when she hit a hard surface she assumed was a bulkhead. Everything went black. At length she batted an eyelid and moved her head to survey her surroundings. Johnston lay a couple of feet from her location she could tell he was dead. Laura Roslin lifted herself onto shaky legs and with the aid of the bulkhead made her way over to the main control panel. What little she knew about technology came from her father.

Jack Roslin used to work for Colonial Intelligence. Laura had found this out on her seventh birthday when he had decided she was old enough to be told. In his favour her father had taught her quite a lot he used to take her shuttle flying with him on occasion he even let her fly the thing. He taught her how to defend herself. He felt that every female should have some basic self defence skills.

She tried to get the engine running again but it had been taken out by the explosion. She opened a com channel.

"This is the Regent, we require immediate assistance. I repeat this is the Regent we require immediate assistance"

William Adama was sat one side of his desk in the ward room across from his XO Saul Tigh when news of the SOS reached him.

He boarded a raptor with a security contingent and headed to the Regent's last known location. The last ship the President had visited was the Virgon Express. Dradis scans of the area picked up a distress beacon from the Regent.

Crashdown laid in the co-ordinates. Adama played the message over and listened to Laura Roslin's voice she sounded calm given the circumstances. When they reached the Regent the damage was visible there were hull breaches in evidence. The Commander's concern for the President's safety was well founded.

Laura could hear voices outside the ship's cockpit. She didn't recognize them. The men talking were not her security guards.

"You think she's alive"

"Saves us a job if she is not"

Laura had to think on her feet she locked the door, she scoured the cockpit for anything she could use as a weapon. A piece of pipe came to hand she stood on one side of the door pipe in hand ready to polax the first person through the door.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of gunfire and the thud of a body dropping to the ground followed by another loud thud.

She was shuck by a wave of nausea and dizziness falling heavily against the door. Laura was shaking uncontrollably she knew she was in shock. It was only at this moment the pain hit her she had banged her side at some point and it hurt like hell.

Banging on the door brought her instantly to her senses she re-positioned herself pipe in hand.

She thought _'I might go down but I'll take someone's ass with me'_. With that the knocking on the door became kicking. Fear gripped her.

When the door finally came away from the lock and started to open. She held the piece of broken pipe above her head.

Adama and his security managed to dock onboard the Regent they made their way towards the flight deck encountering resistance from two men. Adama didn't recognize either of them. When both pulled weapons Adama's men had opened fire killing both of them. He wasn't sure where Roslin was hiding.

His gut was telling him that this was some sort of assignation attempt. The name Tom Zarek slipped quietly into his thoughts. He banged on the door to the cockpit there was no reply. He noted it was locked. He then with the aid of one of his men started to kick the door in. Finally the lock gave way he pushed the door only to be greeted by the President of the Twelve Colonies wielding a piece of pipe. He grabbed her wrist before she could deck him with it. She couldn't remember ever been more glad to see him.

"Madam President"

"Commander", she was breathless.

Roslin dropped the pipe to the ground. Unthinking she put her arms around his neck before being hit by another wave of weakness and passing out.

She was wrapped around him, she fainted. He lifted her into his arms and carried her unaided back to the raptor.

When Laura awoke a few hours later in Galactica's infirmary she found herself looking into some very blue eyes the owner of which was one very concerned William Adama.

"Madam President"

"Hello Commander. I hope you won't mind me saying so but I was very glad to see you"

"I gathered"

Roslin was captivated by his blue eyes. There was something about this man. No matter how angry she was at him that indescribable something drew her to him. Beneath the successful front he showed the world lay an unexplored thread of excitement. It was in that moment clear to her that William Adama was a man who followed his own path made his own choices regardless of what others thought. When he flashed that dangerous smile she could feel all her hard earned resolve begin to crumble. She was threading on dangerous territory.

Laura studied the width of Adama's shoulders and the muscles of his back and upper arms straining beneath his regulation uniform. What would it be like to be encircled in the warmth of those arms? To be free to run her hands over the muscled back, those shoulders? The thought of it brought even more to her mind.

Annoyed by the direction her thoughts were taking she looked away from Adama. She was in unknown territory. Laura had never really dwelt on Adama the man. Oh yes she regarded him as attractive but for the most part this was ignored it was safer to think of him only as the Commander.

He was the exact opposite to her. She liked things safe, she liked to play safe. Out here in the depths of space light years from her home she realised that safe wasn't going to cut it.

"I'm all right Commander"

Something in her demeanour told him the opposite was more likely the case. He didn't broach the subject with her. But smiled and turned leaving Laura to her thoughts.

As he walked slowly back towards CIC his thoughts were full of her. She seemed to occupy a lot of his thinking of late. This made him more than a little uncomfortable. It wasn't like Roslin intentionally attempted to charm him, she hadn't. The charm she eluded went deeper than that. It was the way she refused to give up. The way she held her head high despite the pain he knew she was in.

Two Days later Laura Roslin was back on her feet. Adama had suggested to her that she stay onboard Galactica for a few days to recover from her ordeal. Laura had argued with this suggestion across the board but in the end she had capitulated.

The following night Adama asked her to join him for dinner. She accepted without hesitation.

It took Laura over an hour to decide what she was going to wear to dinner she settled on her dark pinstripe jacket and skirt. It thankfully hadn't shrunk and fit her the way it was supposed to. She applied a little blusher, lip gloss and Mascara. Closed her jacket and headed towards the Commander's quarters.

Upon arrival she was pleasantly surprised to find that Adama had actually cleaned the place. The books which had on previous visits lain strewn around were now neatly stored on shelves. The Commander himself looked well groomed and uniformed _'handsome'_ she thought as she looked up and down his six foot frame.

"Laura", he was instantly drawn to her skirted legs he had to stop himself from staring openly. They were the President's best feature in his opinion followed by those luminous green eyes.

"Bill", she smiled "so what are we eating this evening"

"It's a surprise"

They both sat, Laura kicked her shoes under her. The Commander had made Ravioli the sheer smell made Laura's mouth water. She licked her lips in anticipation. This simple act was almost Adama's undoing he realised in that second that he wanted her. He wanted the President of the Twelve Colonies.

"Bill you all right your not saying a lot", she smiled hoping to bring him out of his revere of thought.

"Thinking, got a few things on my mind", _'namely those legs of yours and those lips'_.

They ate in relative silence but it was a comfortable silence. When she had cleared her plate she lifted her head slowly only to greet the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

"You're an excellent cook William Adama"

"Does this mean you'll be back for seconds", what Adama said and meant were two different propositions all together.

"Yes", Laura noted his words were saying one thing but those blue eyes told a completely different story. She smiled in a vain attempt at hiding the fact that she now knew he wanted her as much as she did him.

"Bill, mind if I borrow a book", she rose to her unshod feet and walked over to his book shelf.

"No problem. What did you think of Dark Day"

"Brilliant loved it. Edward Prima has such a wonderful command of the English language. It was a great read"

"Maybe you should try a world On Trial. I think you'll enjoy that one. Bottom shelf on the left"

The Commander started to clear away the dishes but was side tracked slightly. Roslin had bent over and was riffling through books on the bottom shelf and the view was breathtaking. Adama approached her bent down to her level and within a very short time handed the book in question to her.

"Thank you, and I'm not keeping this one you are getting it back when I finish reading it"

"No need I've read it"

"Bill if I keep borrowing books from you and you keep giving them to me pretty soon Colonial One is going to look like a frakking library".

Adama put a shaky hand to her cheek meaning only to touch her there gently. However a simple touch ended up being far from what transpired.

His gentle touch surprised her "Bill"

Adama cupped her chin in his hands and brought her mouth to his. There was nothing timid about his kiss. He knew what he was doing, what he had wanted to for days. He took his time exploring her mouth and pulled away momentarily when he felt his control start to slip.

"I was going to make us tea Madam President".

The distracted tone of his voice made Laura look at him. There was a flash of exposed desire in his blue eyes before he looked away. She felt the heat start somewhere low in her abdomen and rise to her face. She gave herself a moment to recover than said "that might be a good idea Commander".

The fine thread of control on Adama's restraint snapped his mouth came down hard on hers, driving her head back. He splayed his hands across her back and crushed her to him. He widened his stance and drew her deeper into the kiss and his body, desperate to satiate another more primitive hunger.

Laura tangled her fingers in the dark hairs at the nape of his neck and met the demand in his kiss, her tongue vying with his. Her breasts pressed against the hard wall of his chest, and she felt his heart thud rapidly just as hers was.

Both broke the caress simultaneously both were taken aback by she sheer force of attraction that lay like a giant chasm between them.

The phone rang Adama never lost eye contact with the President as he picked up the phone.

"You're needed in CIC sir", Gaeta's voice was the last thing he wanted to hear at that moment.

Laura walked over to the table breaking eye contact with him retrieved her shoes stepping into them, she turned back towards him.

"Bill you better go. I had a lovely evening. We must do it again sometime soon".

He knew what she meant her green eyes spoke volumes.

"Yes Laura we will".

His words held promise of what Laura wasn't willing to think else she would never leave his quarters. She smiled reached over and kissed him gently he watched her leave before heading to the command deck. As he walked through Galactica's corridors he damned Gaeta for his lousy timing.

The End


End file.
